I like and respect the games of Ben Gordon(notes) and Charlie
Villanueva(notes). I think both players – while shot-happy, mercurial, and crummy on
defense – have been unfairly maligned throughout their careers.

What I just
can't imagine, knowing throughout 2008-09 that the Pistons would have heaps of
salary-cap space to work with this summer, that this is how fans of the team assumed
things would work out.

Carlos Boozer's(notes) staying in Utah, I understand that option is off the
table. By midseason, last year, it became more and more likely that Boozer
wouldn't want to walk away from guaranteed money in 2009-10. Not in this
climate, not with his 2008-09 play. And beyond that, the free-agent pickings
are somewhat slim.

So, that's your team. Those are your Pistons. That's the
payoff of the rebuilding process. Yikes.

We know why Villanueva is available. The Bucks didn't want
to extend a qualifying offer to their once-restricted free-agent forward, and
for good reason. The team is trying to figure its future out, and adding new
salary for a very good-but-not-great player while confusion reigns is never a
good idea. Even if all of CV's offers fell by the wayside and he had to sign
for the QO, nah. Just not worth it, even if his play and contributions are
worth much more than the QO.

Gordon? The Bulls prepared to do this for years. Team owner
Jerry Reinsdorf is easily the cheapest in the NBA, taking in quite a bit of
profit while refusing to pay the luxury tax, or retain players that he's not
entirely comfortable with.

You've
been able to see the writing on the wall for years with this move. It's why
the team makes all sorts of moves to approach the tax (like spending guaranteed
money on two draft picks who aren't even likely to be in next year's rotation)
just to leave itself the excuse to not pay Gordon, a huge scoring threat for a
team that sometimes struggles to top 80 points in a game.

Chicago will toss out John Salmons'(notes) name, of course, because
most of their fans won't remember that Salmons will turn 30 later this year,
and will be about to enter the down side of his career. The Bulls always leave
you a carrot, always refusing to smartly spend money in the proper areas while
distracting you with the luck of the Derrick Rose(notes) lottery selection, or a seven
game series loss to a team missing its best player.

And Detroit?
I just thought they could do better. I understand that you have to wrap up
talent and assets (because talent
is an asset) early in the free-agent game, before someone comes along with
a newer, bluer, offer. And I understand that, supposedly, you don't want to
rake the players who you're trusting to turn your team around over the coals,
letting them twist for too long while you explore other options.

But ... no.

Explore other options. Almost $20 million in cap space means
you can trade for great players, give up nothing but draft picks or also-rans,
and absorb the salary hit under the cap. It means you have flexibility. It
means you can do better than Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. Again, I like
both players, and am sorry to come across like I'm denigrating them, but you
have to look around longer.

And if you do explore, and there's nothing to find? Hurt
feelings have a tendency to float away once you hand nearly $20 million over to
two players. By next season, they'll forget that you agreed to terms on Aug. 19,
instead of July 1.

For now, though, this is it for the Pistons. They'll try to
trade Rip Hamilton, but the only team that would take on an above-average
player (at this stage, this is what Hamilton
is) with a superstar contract would be a team making a massive mistake. And do
you want a team that makes massive mistakes' players?

The only hope is that the team can finagle a deal with Bosh
using its remaining cap space. But that would also mean giving up an asset, and
most indications are that Bosh wants to go where James goes (or, likely, stays)
anyway.

It seems like a fun team. Gordon and CV are certainly far
cheerier than Allen Iverson(notes) and Rasheed Wallace(notes). I'm just not sure it's a knockout
team. And I'm not sure that rotation is worth spending nearly $60 million on,
which is what the Pistons would be doing next year if Ben and Charlie come on
board.